Save the Evening! On March 23, 2013, guests will dine and mingle with Bay Area Literary Stars on the second floor of the Walnut Creek Library. The evening begins with a reception and silent auction followed by dinner served by Grace Street Catering and wine from Charles Creek Winery and Baldacci Family Vineards. Our 2013 Literary Stars include:

Sylvie Simmons: London-born, San Francisco-based, Sylvie Simmons is an award-winning journalist and author. Her latest book is the critically-acclaimed, N.Y Times bestseller ”I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen.”Matt Richtel is a novelist, cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covers technology for the New York Times. His three critically acclaimed novels are thrillers set in Silicon Valley.

Jane Porter’s books include, the bestselling “Flirting With Forty” and ”Odd Mom Out”. Her new trilogy, which includes The Good Woman, revolves around the lives and loves of four sisters in the Bay Area.

Laurie King is the creator of two series of mystery novels, one featuring sleuth Mary Russell partnered with the legendary Sherlock Holmes, the other featuring police inspector Kate Martinelli in her native San Francisco.

Adam Johnson: Stanford University creative writing professor Adam Johnson’s 2011 novel “The Orphan Master’s Son,” is both a touching and highly imaginative story and a searing indictment of government repression in North Korea.

C. W. Gortner: Half-Spanish by birth, bestselling author C.W. Gortner writes historical novels about powerful and maligned women of the Renaissance, including Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Isabella of Castile, and her daughter, the “mad” queen Juana. He lives in San Francisco and is currently at work on a novel about Lucrezia Borgia.Zoe Ferraris: San Francisco author Zoe Ferraris’s mystery novels “Finding Nouf,” “City of Veils” and “Kingdom of Strangers” were inspired by her experience living in Saudi Arabia.

Max Byrd’s new thriller about a secret arms race at the eve of World War II follows his highly acclaimed historical novels recounting events in the lives of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant.

Gary Bogue wrote a popular East Bay newspaper column on pets, wildlife and the environment and is the author of four books, including “There’s an Opossum in my Backyard” and “The Racoon Next Door.”

Cara Black: San Francisco mystery writer Cara Black is the author of the bestselling Aimee Leduc murder mysteries, set in Paris and richly imbued with the romance and intrigue evoked by its ancient streets, alleyways and cafes. (MDGentleReader)… (more)